Two Australian Defence Force personnel have been attacked by a crocodile but it’s not clear if they were on or off duty when the reptile mauled them in far north Queensland.
A soldier has head, chest, and arm injuries after a crocodile mauled him and an Army colleague who went to his aid.
Both are being treated in the Cairns hospital after the reptile attacked them in croc-infested waters north of the Lockhart River, a remote Aboriginal community in Cape York Peninsula, on Friday afternoon.
Lockhart River Mayor Wayne Butcher said the men had gone for a swim in known crocodile habitat.
The defence department has told reporters both men are Army personnel but have not revealed if they were on or off duty when the attack happened.
The ambulance service said the most seriously injured man, aged in his early 20s, suffered head, chest and arm injuries. He is in a serious but stable condition.
The other man, in his early 30s, suffered arm injuries and is in a stable condition.
The men were initially treated by a medical officer on an army barge before being transferred to another vessel and taken to shore. They were then airlifted to Cairns.
The attack happened about a kilometre (0.62 miles) from the community of Portland Road just after 4 p.m.
“Two blokes have been swimming in croc-infested waters. One got attacked and the other one … tried to help,” Butcher, the mayor, has told the ABC.
